Beta is a major antagonist in Seasons 9 and 10 of The Walking Dead. He acts as second-in-command of the Whisperers, a violent group of apocalypse survivors who disguise themselves with the skin of the undead in order to blend in with them and not get noticed. Throughout his time in the series, Beta is shown to be utterly dedicated to Alpha and the Whisperers' way of life. Even after Alpha's death, he refuses to take her title and is driven to seek revenge against her killers no matter the cost.
Personality[]
It is unclear what kind of person Beta used to be before the apocalypse, though he did have a close friend who had also been his rehab counselor. When his friend died and became a walker, Beta became reclusive and socially awkward, isolating himself until he met Dee, the woman who would become Alpha. After meeting Alpha, he would completely abandon his previous identity, having grown to hate the person he once was.
As second-in-command of the Whisperers, Beta was utterly devoted to Alpha and the Whisperer way of life, willing to commit whatever act of violence she asked of him. However, despite his devotion, Beta was not above questioning Alpha's choices or calling her out on bad decisions if they jeopardized the pack. His dedication to Alpha was so strong that he was willing to kill other Whisperers who showed disdain for her leadership.
After Alpha's death, Beta suffered a complete mental breakdown. Not only did he refuse to take the title of "Alpha" himself, he even punished a Whisperer who called him as such by using Alpha's zombified head to bite his ear off. Descending into rage-fueled madness, he began experiencing vivid hallucinations, hearing the undead speaking to him and urging him to have faith in himself, hinting towards an inferiority complex.
History[]
Early life[]
Beta's real name is unknown, although before the apocalypse, he was once a professional country musician known by the stage name "Half Moon". At some point, he had gone to a rehabilitation clinic - presumably due to alcohol or drug abuse - and befriended the councelor who had worked with him.
During the early days of the apocalypse, Beta and his friend had taken refuge at a survivors' camp, but this camp was eventually overrun by walkers. The two later took shelter inside an abandoned hospital, but Beta's friend would later die and reanimate. Unable to bring himself to put his friend down, Beta kept him isolated within a wing of the hospital. Descending into madness, Beta started wearing a ski mask in order to hide his identity from strangers to preserve his image as an inspiring musician before the apocalypse while descending into a ruthless killer to stay alive.
Sometime later, Dee and her daughter Lydia arrived at the hospital to escape from walkers. Beta reluctantly allowed them to stay one night but forbade them from entering his private quarters. He eventually formed a bond with Dee due to them sharing similar views about the new world though after she tried to see his face, he demanded her and her daughter to leave. Lydia however eventually trespassed on his side of the hospital, forcing her mother to follow her and ended up killing Beta's zombified best friend, to his fury. Dee calmed him down and welcomed him to join them. Beta refused to leave his best friend behind and Dee convinced him to skin his face off and wear it to continue hiding his identity (to which she and Lydia learned). Beta accepted and also took his friend's shirt.
After meeting Beta, Dee killed Hera, the leader of a large group of survivors that would eventually become known as the "Whisperers". The two took over the Whisperers with Beta as the group's second-in-command, while Dee took the name of "Alpha" and became the leader. Under their direction, they instructed their people to skin walkers and wear their skin in order to mask their scents and move freely among herds. This was also used as a method to attack other survivor camps and settlements. The group members were also demanded to abandon their previous lives and beliefs and become nothing but hardened, primitive survivors. They survived off the land by moving from place to place. Beta continued to protect his identity strictly and always wore his mask, even in the safety of their camp.
Season 9[]
Following the first meeting between the Whisperers and Hilltop, Beta discovered Henry, a boy from the Kingdom, spying on the Whisperers' camp. Henry had watched as Alpha took Lydia back from Hilltop and wanted to rescue her. Beta tied Henry to a tree while Alpha decided what to do with him. She ultimately decided to have Lydia kill Henry to prove her loyalty, threatening that Beta would kill Henry and her as well if she didn't comply. However, before Lydia could carry out the deed, walkers entered the camp and started attacking the unmasked Whisperers. As Alpha and Beta went to check on the camp, Daryl Dixon arrived to save Henry, taking Lydia along, too.
Once the walkers in the camp had been dealt with, Alpha and Beta discovered that Lydia and Henry were gone. Beta took several Whisperers with him and went in search of the escapees, tracking them to an abandoned town. The Whisperers found that Daryl, Henry and Lydia were hiding in an old office building that had been under renovation at the time of the outbreak. Inside, a trap had been set up to seperate the Whisperers from the undead. Beta led his hunters upstairs and broke down the door, using another door as a shield.
Daryl and Beta fought, with Beta's size and physical strength giving him an advantage. However, Daryl was faster and managed to stab Beta in the chest, though this wasn't enough to kill him or even significantly hinder him. Daryl escaped into a crawl space while Beta pulled the knife out of his chest. He called out to Daryl, telling him that he only wanted Lydia and would let him go. Daryl, however, crept up behind Beta after emerging from another trap door and he kicked the Whisperer down an open elevator shaft. Daryl then left with Lydia and Henry, thinking that Beta was dead. However, Beta had survived the fall, having suffered only bruises and the loss of his bottom front teeth.
Season 10[]
Several months following the Kingdom trade fair massacre, hostilities between the Whisperers and the Coalition had renewed. After a satellite had fallen from orbit between the camps of both factions, the Coalition had been forced to cross the border in order to douse the fires caused by the impact. When Beta went to inform Alpha of her enemies' movements, he discovered that his leader had secretly built a shrine to her daughter Lydia. Alpha revealed that Lydia was still alive, despite having previously told the pack that she had killed her daughter. Beta promised to keep Alpha's secret.
Three nights later, Beta encountered the runaway Negan and captured him, blindfolding him and bringing him into the woods. Throughout the journey, Negan talked about how Alexandria had imprisoned him and that he was willing to offer the Whisperers information, but Beta became irritated by his prisoner's near-constant chatter. After arriving at the Whisperers' camp, Beta removed Negan's blindfold and introduced him to Alpha. He suggested killing Negan, believing that he didn't belong with them, but Alpha decided to test him to see if he was worthy. As such, Beta put Negan through a series of tasks such as hunting game, skinning walkers and digging graves. Later, while being shown how to walk among the undead, Negan continued to crack jokes, enraging Beta, who told him that he was too loud and egotistical to ever be a Whisperer. He then left Negan to fend for himself against the walkers with nothing but a pocket knife.
When Beta returned to the camp, he informed Alpha that Negan had died since he was too weak to adapt to their ways. However, moments later, Negan came strolling back into the camp, carrying a thick branch and covered in blood. Beta was left speechless while Alpha was pleased with Negan's resolve, welcoming him into the ranks of the Whisperers.
A couple of days later, after it is discovered that Gamma has gone missing, Alpha and Beta both suspect that she might have turned traitor. Beta is tasked with tracking her down, suspecting that she is in Alexandria, where the Whisperers had planted a spy. Using a hidden tunnel, Beta snuck into Alexandria after dark, murdering a number of residents in order to provide a distraction for the guards. After his victims reanimated, Beta let them loose into the streets while he made his way to the jail cell. After killing the guard outside, he entered the jail to find Mary within the cell. Using the guard's key, Beta opened the cell and demanded that Mary go with him. Mary refused, stating that she wasn't afraid of him. It was then that Laura suddenly entered and tackled Beta, warning Mary to run away and find help. As Mary fled, Beta killed Laura by slamming her into the floor and breaking her neck.
Beta came out into the street and entered a house in search of Mary. He tried to enter the children's room, only to get shot in the chest by Judith and fall hard on the floor. When Mary tried to follow Judith and R.J. outside, Beta grabbed her foot and knocked her down. He then checked his bulletproof vest before Rosita drew his attention. They fought with their weapons until Beta slashed both of her arms and got her on the ground. Before he could kill her, Mary told him to stop or she would kill herself, saying she knew Alpha wanted her alive. Shortly after, Beta escorted Mary back to the camp when they were ambushed by the Alexandrians, forcing him to flee into the woods.
The following night, the Whisperers launched an all-out assault on Hilltop with their horde of zombies. Prior to the attack, Beta and his subordinates had collected tree sap which they used to make projectiles with. During the assault, they launched these sap bombs at Hilltop and followed up by firing flaming arrows, igniting the sap and setting Hilltop's walls ablaze.
In the aftermath of the battle, Beta and the other Whisperers went about locating survivors and killing them, stabbing their hearts so that they would reanimate and could be used to replenish the horde. As Alpha lamented over the loss of so many walkers, Beta and Negan deduced that she also wanted Lydia back. Beta promised Alpha that he would find her, heading off into the forests where the Coalition survivors had fled.
In the woods, Beta located Mary, Alden, Kelly, and Adam, sending a small cluster of walkers at them. They ran off and found an abandoned car, hiding in it to avoid the walkers, but Mary decided to lure the walkers away from Adam and the rest. In a clearing, Mary killed the walkers, but was then ambushed and stabbed in the stomach by Beta, who reaffirmed that she would walk with the Whisperers again. Mary tried to fight back and, in her struggle, ripped a part of Beta's mask off. This prompted him to finish her off by disemboweling her. Another Whisperer showed up and recognized Beta from before the apocalypse, noting that his voice sounded familiar. Beta slit the Whisperer's throat to protect his real identity. He then patiently waited for Mary to reanimate. As soon as she did, however, she was killed with an arrow shot by Alden. Beta ran off before Alden could shoot him as well.
Hours later, Beta and two other Whisperers returned to the border where they discovered Alpha's zombified head stuck on a pike. One of the Whisperers - Rufus - noted that with Alpha dead, Beta was now the new Alpha. Consumed with rage, Beta grabbed Rufus, asking him if he could hear Alpha speaking. Rufus fearfully replied that he could and Beta asked what she was saying to him, pushing him right up to Alpha's head. Alpha's snapping jaw then bit off Rufus' ear, causing the other Whisperers to run off in fear.
Taking Alpha's head with him, Beta travelled to a deserted town, bringing Rufus in tow. Rufus was infected and started coughing, attracting a nearby walker as a result. Beta stood between the zombie and Rufus, but the creature did not turn away. When Rufus attempted to stab the zombie, Beta stabbed him and allowed the zombie to feed on him. As Beta continued onward, he began hearing Alpha's voice in his head. He ventured into an abandoned hotel, finding a room containing a guitar, a record player and a poster displaying his former identity as the country musician Half Moon. Horrified by this image, Beta tore the poster down and smashed the guitar in a rage.
Hours later, still sitting in the hotel room, Beta found a copy of one of his records and put it on the record player. The music served to attract a large number of walkers that gathered outside of the hotel. Still hearing Alpha's hallicinatory voice, Beta decided on what to do next. After putting down Alpha's head, he carved off a piece of her face which he used to repair his own mask. He then left the hotel, walking out into the horde of undead, urging them to follow him as he went in search of Alpha's enemies to exact his vengeance.
Following the voices in his head, Beta led the undead horde and the remaining Whisperers to Alexandria. When they arrived, they found the settlement deserted, although none of the Whisperers noticed that Aaron and Alden were hiding up in the windmill watching them and listening in. With their enemies nowhere to be found, Beta and the Whisperers led the horde towards Oceanside. However, on the way, Beta sensed that they were heading into a trap and led the horde away through the forest. After some time, Beta noticed a cat crossing his path. Seeing that they had reached an urban area, he looked ahead to an abandoned hospital, certain that that was where the Coalition survivors were hiding. Beta continued to hallucinate, now envisioning the walkers beside him speaking to him, telling him that his faith would be rewarded. As they walked towards the hospital, Beta chanted the Whisperers' mantra, with the undead masses chanting with him in his warped mind.
With the hospital surrounded, Beta ordered his followers to begin the assault. Shortly thereafter, a group led by Daryl Dixon made their way through the zombie horde covered in guts and covered by the others from inside the hospital. Noticing this, Beta had the horde turn, giving the archers a harder target. Soon, music began drawing the horde away and the Whisperers began following the music with the horde.
That night, the Whisperers attacked the wagon carrying the sound system, destroying it and the sound system despite the Coalition's best efforts. With Beta and the Whisperers turning the horde back around, Daryl's group infiltrated the horde and started assassinating the Whisperers one by one. A walker drew Beta's attention to Lydia who began turning the horde again, but as Beta went to follow her, he was confronted by Negan. Enraged over the loss of Alpha, Beta threw a walker at Negan, knocking him to the ground, and prepared to kill the former Savior leader in revenge. At that moment, Daryl attacked, slashing Beta and then stabbing him through both eyes.
Mortally wounded, Beta imagined himself pulling the knives out and being embraced by the walkers while reminiscing on his life as a Whisperer. In reality, the herd moved in and began to devour Beta, who appeared unfazed and was smiling happily as the herd ripped into him. As Beta was devoured, his mask was ripped off, and Negan was shocked to recognize him. Negan turned to Daryl, asking if he knew who Beta was, but Daryl coldly stated that he was "nobody".